Board game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A game to be played by two opposing players comprising in combination, a game board formed by 58 connected hexagonal spaces arranged symmetrically in a generally rectangular shape, with nine hexagonal spaces arranged staggeredly to the front of each player, and six hexagonal spaces arranged in columns on each of the opposed sides of the board, twenty-two hexagonal spaces arranged in staggered rows on each side of the board being shaded to define positional rows for each player, a group of fourteen staggeredly arranged unshaded hexagonal spaces between the opposed positional rows of each player, and 44 pieces designated as houses, 22 pieces for each player and positioned in their respective positional rows for forward, sideward, or backward movement to an adjacent unoccupied or occupied hexagonal space.

Umted States Patent [1 1 [111 3,

Aldea Nov. 4, 1975 BOARD GAME APPARATUS [57] ABSTRACT [76] I use QuezonC 1111111111111 es A game to be played by two opposing players compris-[22] July 1974 ing in combination, a game board formed by 58 con [21]Appl 487, ected hexagonal paces rranged symmetr' enerall rectan lar' spe, with nine paces rranged tagger ly to the fron [30] F anon Pnor taplayer, and six he gona ces arranged 1 m uly 1 PP 14816 n each of the opsed s of the board, t

exagonal spaces rrang staggered to [52] D; 273/131 7 AE; 1de of t e oarbeing ed to define 37 AB ws for r, a f fourteen s g [51] Int. F 3/00arranged he'xa es betwe h [58] F 73/131 osed p ws 0 yer, and

esignat h 2 each [56] ferences Cited Osition r0 STATES PAT NT ward, si mm 3,724,856 Welch em unO mary Exam -Delbert B. Lowe ney, Ag irmSug ue, M& Mac aims, Drawing Fi ures PLAYER US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of23,917,272

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 FIGZQ Sheet 2 of 2 BOARD GAME APPARATUS Thepresent game is a new and captivating game whose main arena is the mindof the two players and secondarily the board and pieces. The game, initself, is simple to understand but its scope is as wide as theunlimited field of the mind. A player has to project, fake, recall, andbluff his way through from one challenge after another to win the game.Like chess, the present game requires presence of mind and retentivememory. Due to the nature of the game, it relaxes and freshens up atired mind and body. The present game, therefore, has its main object todevelop and soothe both mind and body, and to give insight into themechanism of the mind, and its value extends to our everyday life.

The present game is played between two players with a combination of aboard having 58 connected hexagons and 22 movable pieces alloted foreach player, called houses, with insertable, attachable, detachable, andtransferable marked slides. At the start of the game, the playersrespectively insert and/or attach independently their alloted markedslides in the houses, and arrange said houses at random on thepositional rows, with the marked slides facing the player and not shownto the opposing player in the game. A player moves, alternately with theother player, a house in any direction from one hexagon to an adjacentunoccupied hexagon or to a hexagon occupied by house of the otherplayer, resulting in a challenge which induces a series ofcounter-challenges between the two players. The beauty of the gamerevolves mainly on the challenge and counter-challenges because a playercan declare any alloted mark for his house in an attempt to capture thehouse of the other player, regardless of whether or not said house hasthe same mark as declared, and in succeeding counter-challenges, thesame player declares another mark for the same house. The effect isamusing, jolting, and confusing, particularly to the opposing player.Rules are adhered to which decide the winner in a challenge andcounter-challenges. Generally, a house of higher rank captures a houseof lower rank but there are certain reverses in the rules of the gamewherein a house of lower rank captures a particular house of higherrank. When the brain house of a player reaches unchallenged any of thefour bases of the opposing player or when the brain house of theopposing player is captured, or when a block is formed by a playerconnecting a base of the opposing player, the game is won.

The game has six variations or six complete games to offer, namely:

House of Wit Selection House of Wit Rambles House of WitSelection-Rambles House of Wit Restricted Selection House of WitRestricted Rambles House of Wit Restricted Selection-Rambles All theabove six variations are played with a board having 58 hexagons and 22houses with transferable marked slides alloted for each player, and thesame operations and rules, with variations per game as follows: 1. Houseof Wit Selection The 22 marked slides OMAU N ,are inserted and/orattached with equal distribution of the marked slides into house type Aand house type B. The brain slide and the blank slide are, however,interchangeable and must always be on opposite types of houses in thegame.

2. House of Wit Rambles All the 22 marked slides are transferable fromone house to any other house without equal distribution of the marks ofthe slides into the two types of houses, hence, disregarding house typeA and house type B.

3. House of Wit Selection-Rambles A variation whose one complete game isa combination of two sets, namely: House of Wit Selection and House ofWit Rambles.

4. House of Wit Restricted Selection The same as House of Wit Selectionwith one difference: With the use of bars, a player is restricted tomaking two successive alternate moves for the same house, unlike inHouse of Wit Selection in which there is no limit to the number ofalternate moves for the same house.

5. House of Wit Restricted Rambles The same as House of Wit Rambles withone difference: In this game variation, a player uses bars and isrestricted to making two successive alternate moves for the same house.

6. House of Wit Restricted Selection-Rambles A game combination of twosets, namely: House of Wit Restricted Selection and House of WitRestricted Rambles.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1a is a plan view of the playing board having 58hexagon spaces;

FIG. lb shows one form of hexagon space;

FIG. 1c showsan alternate form of hexagon space;

FIG. 2a is a perspective exploded view of a large house and slide;

FIG. 2b is a perspective exploded view of a small house and slide;

FIG. 3a is a view of a modified house and slide similar to that shown inFIG. 2b;

FIG. 3b is a view of another modified house and slide similar to thatshown in FIG. 2a; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of a combined house and slide anda bar adapted to be placed on the house.

GAME OPERATIONS OF BOARD AND PIECES:

With reference to FIG. la, the game is played on a board having 58connected hexagons with each hexagon l forming the board, asillustratively enlarged in FIG. 1b, having six equal sides. Amodification of the shape of each hexagon 2 forming the board is alsoillustratively enlarged in FIG. 10, wherein two sides, horizontal to thetwo players, are equally wider than the other four equal sides. Themeasurement of each hexagon forming the board is such that it can beoccupied adequately by two pieces called houses. Referring further toFIG. 1a, the game operation of the shaded connected hexagons 3,.totalling 22 hexagons 3 on each side of the board represents thepositional rows where the two players respectively position their housesat random before the start of the game. First rows 4, each side havingfour hexagons 4, are the bases and the target of each opposing playerbecause a brain house of a player reaching unchallenged any of the fourbases 4 of the opposing player wins for him the game. First row 4 andsecond row 5 comprising together nine hexagons are the jumpers rows,hence, a house of any of the two players situated inside a hexagonwithin these rows could jump two steps directly in front when theimmediate frontal hexagon is vacant.

3 Referring to FIGS. 2a and 2b, the movable pieces of the game, shapedlike short rectangular bars similar to mah-jong pieces in appearance arecalled houses and are divided equally into two types: house type A 6 andhouse type B 7. As illustrated, house type A 6 is larger than house typeB 7. A modification of the size of the two types of houses isillustrated in FIGS. 3a and 3b wherein house type A 8 has the same sizeas house type B 9 but is striped or decorated differently to havedistinction. Referring further to FIGS. 2a, 2b and 3a, 3b, on the backof each of the twenty-two houses alloted for a player are sidings 10 ormagnets on which are insertable, attachable, detachable, andtransferable, the marked slides 11. The marked slides 11, which arethin, flat and rectangular in shape, are marked with alloted words andnumbers representing the ranks of the houses when inserted and/orattached. Two slides each are marked with the word Guard and thenumbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9; while one slide each is markedwith the words: Blank and Brain, making a total of 22 marked slides forthe 22 houses alloted for one player. In playing the House of WitSelection, a player inserts and/or attaches independently but equallydistributed his alloted marked slides into the two types of houses. Thebrain slide and the blank slide are insertable and/or attachable intothe two types of houses but both slides must always be in opposite typesof houses. Playing the House of Wit Rambles, a player is at liberty toinsert and/or attach any marked slide to any house disregarding equaldistribution of the alloted marks of the slides into the two types ofhouses, thereby, disregarding house type A and house type B.

With reference to FIG. 4, a bar 12, which is shaped flat and rectangularand about the same size as the top 13 of the house 14, is placed on top13 of a house 14 on every move and is to be removed when a move onanother house is made. The bars are used when players are playing Houseof Wit Restricted Selection and House of Wit Restricted Rambles. Eachplayer is alloted three bars to be used as indicators of the number ofmoves made for a particular house. A maximum of two bars, one on top ofthe other, is allowed to be placed on top of a house indicating twosuccessive alternate moves for thesame house. Hence, with the use ofbars, each player is restricted to two successive alternate moves forone house. After winning a challenge or counter-challenge, a player isallowed to make two successive alternate moves for the same house. Theexception is when there is one house left on board for a player in whichcase he is permitted to make more than two successive alternate moves.

It will be understood that modifications can be made in the size, shape,and color of the board and pieces without departure from the originalconcept of the game apparatus to be used combinatively in the game Houseof Wit.

General Operations and Rules of the Game:

1. The game is played between two players on a board having 58 connectedhexagonal areas.

2. Each player is alloted, at the start of the game, 22 pieces calledhouses (44 houses for the two players) complete with insertable,attachable, detachable, and transferable marked slides broken down asfollows:

Mark on No. of Number of Houses Slide Slides Type A Type B Total 1" 2pcs. 1 pc. 1 pc. 2 pcs. 2" 2 pcs. 1 pc. 1 pc. 2 pcs. 3 2 pcs. 1 pc. 1pc. 2 pcs. 4" 2 pcs. 1 pc. 1 pc. 2 pcs. 5 2 pcs. 1 pc. 1 pc. 2 pcs. 6 2pcs. 1 pc. 1 pc. 2 pcs. 7" 2 pcs. 1 pc. 1 pc. 2 pcs. "8" 2 pcs. 1 pc. 1pc. 2 pcs. 9 2 pcs. 1 pc. 1 pc. 2 pcs. Guard" 2 pcs. 1 pc. 1 pc. 2 pcs.Blank" 1 pc.) Brain" 1 pc.) 1 pc. l pc. 2 pcs.

22 pcs. ll pcs. 11 pcs. 22 pcs.

3. Before the start of the game, each player inserts and/or attachesindependently his alloted marked slides into the houses and arranges atrandom the houses in the positional rows. The marked slidesinserte-dand/or attached must be facing the player and not shown to theopposing playenA lot is drawn to decide the player to make the firstmove. I

4. A player moves alternately with the other player in any direction(forward, sideward, backward) a house from one hexagon to an adjacentunoccupied hexagon or from one hexagon to an adjacent hexagon occupiedby a house of the opposing player. However, when the house is situatedin the jumpers rows, such house can be moved two steps directly in frontinto an unoccupied hexagon or into a hexagon occupied by a house of theopposing player, provided the immediately frontal hexagon to pass isunoccupied. When a player moves his house into a hexagon alreadyoccupied by a house of the opposing player, a challenge occurs.

5. Challenges and Counter-challengesz a. A player challenges a house ofhis opponent by moving one of his houses inside a hexagon occupied by ahouse of the other player and declaring openly an alloted mark tocapture the house of the other player, regardless of whether or not saidhouse has the same mark. The other player has the following moves toselect:

1. He counter-challenges by declaring openly.

any alloted mark for his house under attack; or 2. He concedes withoutdeclaring any mark thereby losing his house under. attack by taking itoff the board. He makes the next immediate move; or 3. He may notdeclare any mark but instead opens the declared house of the firstplayer. If the house opened coincides with the mark as declared by thefirst player, he loses his house under attack and is further penalizedwhereby he loses an additional house in which case the rules on penaltyapply. If the house opened does not coincide with the mark declared bythe first player, the first player loses his declared house and isfurther penalized whereby he loses an additional house, in which casethe rules on penalty apply. b. When the other player counter-challengesby declaring a mark for his house under attack to capture the declaredhouse of the first player,-the first player has the following moves toselect:

1. He counter-challenges by declaring a different mark to capture thedeclared house of the other player; or

2. He concedes and loses his declared house by taking it off the board.He makes the next immediate move; or

3. He opens the declared house of the other player in which case therules on penalty apply.

0. When in a challenge or counter-challenge, a player declares a markand the other player counterdeclares the same mark, and neither playeropens the house declared by the other, both houses are taken off theboard. The player who first declares makes the next immediate move.

d. When a player challenges and the other player, in-

stead of making a counter-challenge by declaring a mark for his houseunder attack, removes same thereby losing it, he can make acounter-challenge with another house of his by moving legitimately suchhouse into the challenged hexagon and declaring any mark. The firstplayer can declare another mark for his house now undercounter-challenge.

c. When a player challenges or counter-challenges,

and the other player, instead of making a counterchallenge with hishouse under attack, removes same and makes a counter-challenge withanother house of his by declaring the same mark as declared by the firstplayer, the first player has two alternative moves:

1. He opens the counter-challenging house of the other player in whichcase the rules on penalty apply; or

2. He removes his declared house together with the declared house of theother player. He makes the next immediate move.

f. The limit to the number of times the two players can make a challengefollowed by a series of counter-challenges for their respective housesoccupying the same hexagons are as follows:

1. First player challenges with his house by declaring any mark, then 2.Second player counter-challenges with his house under attack bydeclaring any mark, then 3. First player counter-challenges with thesame house by declaring another mark than he first declared, then 4.Second player counter-challenges with his same house by declaringanother mark than he first declared. After the above challenge andseries of three counter-challenges between the two players, the firstplayer either:

1. Concedes defeat by removing his house under counter-challenge; or

2. Opens the house declared by the second player in which case the ruleson penalty apply.

6. The following enumerated houses with marked slides of one playercapture the houses of the other player in a challenge andcounter-challenge and vice versa, namely:

House No. 1 captures House No. 2 to House No. 9;

House No. 2 captures House No. 3 to House No. 9;

House No. 3 captures House No. 4 to House No. 9

and Guard House;

House No. 4 captures House No. 5 to House No. 9

and Guard House;

House No. 5 captures House No. 6 to House No. 9

and Guard House;

House No. 6 captures House No. 7 to House No. 9

and Brain House;

House No. 7 captures House No. 8 and House No. 9

and Brain House;

House No. 8 captures House No. 9 and Brain House;

House No. 9 captures House No. l and Brain House;

Guard House captures House No. 1, House No. 2,

House No. 6 to House No. 9;

Blank House captures House No. l to House No. 9

and Guard House;

Brain House captures House No. 1 to House No. 5,

Guard House and Blank House.

7. When House No. l and House No. 9 are both declared by the two playersin a challenge and/or counter-challenge, the first marked house declaredloses.

8. The Blank House cannot be declared in a challenge but whenchallenged, captures all marked houses except the Brain House.

9. The game is drawn as follows:

a. When a player challenges by declaring his Brain House, and hisopponent counter-challenges by declaring his Brain House and neitherplayer opens the declared house of the other player;

b. By agreement after 20-moves of play.

10. The game is won in various ways, to wit:

a. When a player captures the Brain House of his opponent;

b. When the Brain House of a player occupies unchallenged any of thefour bases of his opponent;

' c. When the penalty house taken by a player in the Brain House of hisopponent;

d. When a player forms a block connecting a base of his opponent;

e. When the opponent resigns.

11. Rules on Penalty:

The player takes as penalty the nearest house of his opponent directlyfacing any of the six sides of the penalty hexagon. When there are twoor more opponents houses equally far facing any of the six sides of thepenalty hexagon, the winning player takes as penalty the houses of hisopponent in the following order:

First, the house of his opponent directly in front of the penaltyhexagon; if there is none,

Second, the house of his opponent in the right oblique side of the frontof the penalty hexagon; if there is none,

Third, the house of his opponent in the left oblique side of the frontof the penalty hexagon; if there is none,

Fourth, the house of his opponent in the right oblique side of the backof the penalty hexagon; if there is none,

Fifth, the house of his opponent in the left oblique side of the back ofthe penalty hexagon; if there is none,

Sixth, the house of his opponent facing the back of the penalty hexagon;

Seventh, if there is none facing any of the six sides of the penaltyhexagon, none of the opponents houses is penalized.

12. A player forms a block when his houses occupy a minimum of fivehexagons connected in a straight line provided one hexagon occupied issituated in the positional rows of the opposing player. When a playerforms a block in a single straight line to the other player, such blockis called a file block." When a straight block is formed obliquely leftor right, it is called a rank block." When a file block is formed by aplayer, his opponent cannot make a challenge to any of the housesaligned in the block except the first house nearest the player formingthe block. When a rank block is formed by a player, his opponent cannotmake a frontal challenge; he has first to move his house inside the backof the rank block before he can make a challenge to any of the housesforming the block. The exception for an opponent to make a challenge atwill regardless of whether or not there is a block, is when he declareshis brain house.

All the enumerated General Operations and Rules of the Game areapplicable to the six variations offered by the game House of Wit.Additional operations and rules applicable per variation of the game areas follows:

1. House of Wit Selection Rule No. 3 is modified as follows: Before thestart of the game, each player inserts and/or attaches independently hisalloted marked slides into house type A and house type B, equallydistributing the marks of the slides into these two types of houses.Brain slide and Blank slide are interchangeable from one type of houseto the other but must be opposite in the two types of houses in thegame. The marked slides inserted and/or attached must be facing theplayer and notshown to the opposing player. A lot is drawn to decide theplayer to make the first move.

An additional rule for Rule No. 10 is as follows: f. A game is won by aplayer when his opponent inserted and/or attached two slides having thesame mark in one type of house. Also, the game is won when the brain 8slide and the blank slide are inserted and/or attached in the same typeof house.

What is claimed is:

l. A game to be played by two opposing players comprising incombination, a game board formed by 58 connected hexagonal spacesarranged symmetrically in a generally rectangular shape, with ninehexagonal spaces arranged staggeredly along the edge of the board infront of each player, and six hexagonal spaces arranged in column oneach of the opposed sides of the board, the 22 hexagonal spaces arrangedin staggered rows in front of each player being shaded to definepositional rows for each player with a group of fourteen staggeredlyarranged unshaded hexagonal spaces be,- tween the opposed positionalrows of each player, forty-four pieces designated as houses, 22 piecesfor each player and positioned in their respective positional rows forforward, sideward, or backward movement to an adjacent hexagonal space,each of said pieces comprising a rectangular block having on one sidethereof a replaceable slide member having suitable indicia thereon.

2. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein the twentytwo pieces alloted foreach player are provided with twenty-two replaceable slides, two slideseach being marked with the word guard and the numbers one to nine, andone slide each being marked withthe words blank and brain, respectively.=l

1. A game to be played by two opposing players comprising incombination, a game board formed by 58 connected hexagonal spacesarranged symmetrically in a generally rectangular shape, with ninehexagonal spaces arranged staggeredly along the edge of the board infront of each player, and six hexagonal spaces arranged in column oneach of the opposed sides of the board, the 22 hexagonal spaces arrangedin staggered rows in front of each player being shaded to definepositional rows for each player with a group of fourteen staggeredlyarranged unshaded hexagonal spaces between the opposed positional rowsof each player, fortyfour pieces designated as houses, 22 pieces foreach player and positioned in their respective positional rows forforward, sideward, or backward movement to an adjacent hexagonal space,each of said pieces comprising a rectangular block having on one sidethereof a replaceable slide member having suitable indicia thereon.
 2. Agame as defined in claim 1 wherein the twenty-two pieces alloted foreach player are provided with twenty-two replaceable slides, two slideseach being marked with the word ''''guard'''' and the numbers one tonine, and one slide each being marked with the words ''''blank'''' and''''brain,'''' respectively.